Nolsoy in Faroe Islands

13/11/2008

Off the beaten path on the Faroe Islands is a tiny piece of paradise with hidden treasures, Nolsoy. A remote island five kilometres away from Torshavn, it is an ideal place to spend Faroe Islands holidays—far from the bustling towns and right in the heart of nature.

Visitors are welcomed by the sight of small multi-coloured Faroese houses standing on blankets of green grass surrounded by a vast ocean. The island can be reached through a 20-minute boat ride from Torshavn, and has a little harbour with a portal made of a sperm whale’s cheekbones. Only one human settlement can be found here—Nolsoy village on the north-west coast of Stongin.

Tourists on Faroe Islands holidays can discover some rare attractions in Nolsoy. The island is home to a quaint lighthouse hewn out of stone, located on the southernmost tip. One of the world’s largest lenses can be found here, weighing four tons and measuring three metres high. It is featured in the Norwegian kroner coin.

Another Nolsoy attraction is the world’s largest colony of storm petrels. These smallest of sea birds fly only at night, and can be seen on a guided tour with ornithologist Jens Kjeld Jensen.

The historic house á Brunn, dating back to the 1600s, has been turned into a museum. One of the oldest cookers in the Faroe Islands can be found here. Hailed as an impressive technological advancement back in 1858, the cooker was dubbed as the “cooking machine.”

In the basement of Nolsoy’s tourist information centre is the Diana Victoria, the ship of Ove Joensen, a native famed for single-handedly rowing 1,448 kilometres from Faroe Islands to Langelinie in Copenhagen in a traditional Faroese boat. Ovastevna, an annual civic festival, commemorates his extraordinary feat.